


Coming Back Again

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Original Character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-07-07
Updated: 2000-07-07
Packaged: 2019-05-15 14:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14792642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: The past comes back to haunt several key staff members when an unexpected visitor comes along.





	Coming Back Again

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

RATING: PG-13 (in the last part, STRONG language)  
ARCHIVE: Yeah, go ahead.  
SUMMARY: The past comes back to haunt several key staff members when an  
unexpected visitor comes along.  
SERIES: The KD Brody Universe  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own "The West Wing" or its characters, but I do own KD  
Brody and David Beckwith, and a few other characters who are emerging in this  
story, namely Carolyn Kent. Sammy belongs to Dallas. All hail Aaron Sorkin  
for inventing these characters.  
NOTES: Uh... . When it comes time ~~~~ denotes a flashback ~~~~ and  
*denotes italics* for emphasis.

"You're late today." CJ exclaimed as she emerged into the hallway behind  
KD. Her friend smiled and nodded to the various workers that they passed as  
they moved quickly through the hallways.  
"I slept late today. Some stuff happened last night and I felt I needed  
to catch up." KD replied. "It's only twenty minutes anyway." She added as she  
looked at her watch and they turned another corner.  
"Well, what happened last night?" CJ asked.  
"Just some stuff." KD replied innocently as she patted David on the back  
while moving into her office.  
"Uh, huh. Right. Like what?" CJ probed with a playful grin.  
"What was it exactly that you needed, CJ?" KD asked as she sat down  
behind her desk. CJ smiled and closed the door behind her.  
"I need to talk to you about... Toby." CJ stopped. KD looked up.  
"Where? What? Toby?" She repeated.  
"Never mind. I just figured out what you had to do last night." CJ  
replied with a wry grin. KD rolled her eyes and looked at her computer screen  
as it lit up. CJ grinned and plopped down on KD's couch.  
"Oh, stop it. What was it you really needed to talk to me about?" KD  
asked again with a smile as she sorted through the three short piles of  
papers on her desk. She had a long day of nuke meetings and medical research  
briefings to get through. CJ sighed and looked at her friend.  
"Danny." She admitted. KD looked at CJ, a little surprised.  
"Excuse me?" She asked.  
"I know you and Danny were once pretty close and-" CJ started.  
"His birthday." KD interrupted.  
"Bingo. What do I get him?" CJ asked desperately. KD chuckled and shook  
her head.  
"God, I just remembered. I don't even know what I'm going to get him."  
She replied honestly. "Uh, take him to dinner."  
"Dinner?" CJ repeated.  
"Yeah. Oh, a pocket watch." KD exclaimed. CJ raised an eyebrow and leaned  
forward.  
"What?" She asked.  
"I'll get him a pocket watch." KD explained. CJ shook her head.  
"Why?"  
"Well, one, when we were together he was never on time and two, he likes  
em. Good ones. David!" KD called. CJ sighed and leaned back against the couch  
again. David leaned in the door.  
"Yeah?" He asked with a smile.  
"Call Callahan's Jewelers. Tell them you want their silver pocket watch,  
model L212. Find my credit card somewhere and charge it to that, okay?" KD  
ordered as she snatched her agenda off a stray pile. "Tell them I need it  
delivered here as soon as possible, okay?"  
"L212?" David repeated.  
"Yeah. Solid silver, the strong kind.." She added.  
"Anything else?" David asked. KD waved him off.  
"For them, they know. For you, nope. Go." She replied. David smiled and  
closed the door behind him as he moved to do as she told him to. CJ watched  
for another minute while KD tried to collect her thoughts.  
"You can afford that?" CJ asked suddenly. KD looked at her and shrugged.  
"That's a whole other story. Uh, take him to dinner." She exclaimed.  
"You already said that. Help me out here, or I'll start probing you about  
Toby." CJ teased.  
"You can probe all you want, you won't get anything. Nothing of interest  
anyway." KD added.  
"So something did happen?" CJ replied playfully.  
"Uh, he likes Renoir. Paints and stuff. Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet. Typical  
favorites and stuff like that." KD suggested suddenly.  
"So, what, I buy him a painting? I need something within a smaller budget  
here, KD." CJ replied. "I mean how the hell do I afford that?" KD laughed and  
moved to sit down next to her friend.  
"Listen. I don't know, CJ. I mean, the thing about gifts and presents is  
that they come from the heart of the giver. You have to search your heart and  
find something that you really want him to have, something you think he needs  
or not, something that you want him to know came from you. Find something for  
him that he can look at years from now and say 'CJ gave me that. CJ gave me  
that because she loves me and because she wanted to.'" KD exclaimed softly  
but wildly as she gazed absentmindedly at the papers in her lap while she  
shifted them about. After a moment she glanced at CJ who seemed to be staring  
at her with a pensive expression, somewhat tinted with awe.  
"After hearing that, I wonder why you're not writing speeches with Toby  
and Sam." CJ finally admitted. KD laughed.  
"I do a lot of things with Toby. Speech writing is not one of them." She  
replied as she got to her feet and walked around to her chair again. CJ  
grinned and leaned forward.  
"I knew it! You lucky fools." CJ exclaimed. KD laughed again as she sat  
down and began to open a program on her computer.  
"Whatever. Go on and get out of here." She replied. CJ laughed too, got  
to her feet and left her friend alone to her work. She walked out of the  
office and passed David who was on the phone with Callahan Jewelers, talking  
quietly about silver watches. She moved into the hallway, said hello to a few  
employees and staff members and then turned into her own familiar section and  
walked to her office where Carol was waiting.

"Is that that same suit you wore yesterday?" Sam asked as he stepped into  
Toby Ziegler's office to deliver a couple pages for the communication  
director's perusal. Toby hummed as he typed and didn't look at his deputy.  
"Any other questions?" The older man asked without looking away from his  
work. Sam smiled.  
"You been here all night?" He asked playfully.  
"Nope. Any important questions?" Toby retorted.  
"You're feeling better. What changed?" Sam asked.  
"I got a good night's sleep." Toby replied, still not looking at his  
co-worker.  
"Sleep? You don't look like you got any sleep." Sam teased.  
"Shut up." Toby retorted.  
"KD?"  
"Shut up."  
"You dog."  
"You die. Any other questions?"  
"What are we doing today?"  
"We're starting on medical research. KD and I have got a meeting later  
today with Shane and Adams." Toby replied, finally looking at Sam as the  
conversation suddenly became business related.  
"Good luck." Sam exclaimed sympathetically.  
"You, however, are meeting with Gunther and McLean, on your own." Toby  
added with a smile. He enjoyed the grimace that immediately crossed Sam's  
young face.  
"No." Sam whined.  
"Have fun." Toby replied, his smile spreading.  
"Toby, no." Sam pleaded.  
"Tell them I said hi, will you?"  
"They'll crush me, Toby. I'm just lunch meat to them."  
"You're ready for them, Sam. You are."  
"I am not."  
"Have fun."  
"You're enjoying this. I hate you, you know that? I really do."  
"About as much as I've hated you in past moments?"  
"You know, I've got to say, you've got this air about you today that is  
so similar to the time that I -"  
"You can get out now, Sam." Toby said, turning back to his computer  
screen.  
"You animal." Sam teased.  
"I said get out." Toby retorted.  
"Glad you're feeling better, Toby."  
"Sam, I'm warning you."  
"What it is exactly that you're feeling is more comp-"  
"You have ten seconds, then I'm going to stand up and kill you."  
"You know I'm just kidding. It's kind of like locker talk." Sam said with  
a smile.  
"Nine, eight." Toby counted off.  
"You are kidding, right, Toby?" Sam said with a more serious look. Toby  
stood up and unbuttoned his jacket.  
"Seven, six." Toby continued calmly as he moved around his desk.  
"Okay, I'm going to my own office now." Sam exclaimed before standing up  
and darting out of the room. Toby smiled, buttoned his jacket and returned to  
his seat to continue typing.

"Hey, Kody." Josh exclaimed as he walked up to KD in the hallway between  
the communications bullpen and the Oval office. She smiled as she looked  
through her papers.  
"Hey there, Jolly." She replied. "How are you today?" She asked.  
"I'm good. You know medical research is going to come up in the meeting  
today." Josh reminded her. She nodded.  
"I know. I'm gonna have what you need by the time the meeting starts."  
She assured him.  
"It starts in ten minutes." He retorted.  
"Trust me here, Jolly." She replied with a laugh. He grinned sheepishly  
and nodded as they turned into their bullpen. "I'm going to check with David  
and then we can go to the damn meeting." She added as they separated. Josh  
laughed and moved to his office, grabbing Donna by the elbow and pulling her  
in. She smiled at him as he closed the door and pulled her into a warm  
embrace.  
"Hey, time to wake up." KD exclaimed as she whacked David on the head  
gently with the papers in her hand. "Where's my report thingy?" She asked as  
she handed the papers to him.  
"Uh, right here." David replied as he took the papers and exchanged them  
for a thin file which he handed her. "Your staff meeting is in eight minutes.  
You have lunch scheduled with Mr. Ziegler. You're seeing congress-people  
Shane and Adams with Toby at two today to talk about medical research. Right  
now there's a lady in your office who insisted on seeing you." He added,  
pointing to her office. She nodded, looking through the file he'd given her  
and then smiled at him.  
"Okay, then." She replied and looked back towards Josh's office where she  
saw Josh approaching, slightly happier than before and Donna going to her  
desk a slightly darker shade of red. "Jolly, I've just got to check in with a  
visitor here and then we'll go, okay?" She announced. Josh nodded as she  
moved into her office. KD stopped short as she saw a gray-haired woman  
flipping through the pages of a recent report KD had read about the needs for  
more funding to medical research. The woman seemed to be in her mid-sixties,  
with dark brown eyes and a small mouth that seemed to hide in the creases of  
her chin. KD stared at the woman for a second before the woman looked up and  
smiled in recognition.  
"Kathryn, dear. There you are." The woman exclaimed happily. KD opened  
her mouth as if to say something and then closed it again, walking out of the  
office and closing the door behind her.  
"David, if you ever see that woman again, call security." KD exclaimed  
before smiling at Josh and starting the walk towards Leo's office. Josh  
frowned in confusion and followed her as KD's office door opened and the  
woman emerged behind them. Josh hurried to catch up with his friend.  
"Who was that?" He asked. KD shrugged.  
"Hmm? No one." She replied as she ducked into Margaret's office. "Is he  
in?" She asked. Margaret nodded.  
"Kathryn Dylan Brody, don't you dare walk away from me like that again."  
The woman declared as she entered the office. KD laughed.  
"Me walk away from you? That's a riot. Margaret, could you call security  
and have them escort this woman off grounds?" KD asked as she glanced at her  
boss's assistant. Margaret nodded as she grabbed the phone, a similar look of  
confusion on her face to the one that Josh wore.  
"What's going on?" Leo asked as he leaned out of his office. KD turned to  
reply but was interrupted.  
"Leo McGarry! Oh, my God, it's been so long! You look great!" The woman  
exclaimed, stepping towards him. Leo looked at her and backed away in disgust  
before nodding to his assistant.  
"Never mind." The chief of staff remarked. "Go ahead, Margaret." He  
added. The woman pouted angrily.  
"Now don't tell me you're encouraging her behavior? Honestly, Leo, I  
thought we were all adults here." She snapped. KD moved past the woman into  
Leo's office. Leo glanced at Josh and gestured for him to follow suit. Josh  
did so, still very confused, and very curious.  
"We are mature adults, Carolyn. You, however, do not fall into that  
category." Leo retorted before stepping into his office and shutting the door  
into the woman's face. Inside his office, Leo glanced at KD with a reassuring  
yet weak smile. "You okay, kid?" He asked softly. She smiled back weakly and  
nodded.  
"Yeah, I'm fine, dad." She replied weakly.  
"What's going on here?" Josh asked feebly. Leo waved his hand and  
shrugged.  
"Doesn't matter. It's been taken care of. Let's go to our meeting." He  
replied and lead the way into the Oval Office. KD was quick on his heels and  
so was Josh, but he was still not satisfied. As they moved into the room, he  
stared at the back of Leo's head as if he could read the man's mind to get  
the answer. KD sat down on the couch next to Toby, who subsequently put his  
arm around her and pulled her a little closer while reading his agenda  
absentmindedly. She smiled and looked at her own papers.  
"It's about time you guys got here. What was the holdup?" Jed asked as he  
saw the approach of his best friend. KD looked at him and then at Leo, an  
almost desperate look on her face, a look that scared Toby a little bit.  
"We had an unexpected, and unwelcome, visitor." Leo exclaimed.  
"Who?" Jed asked as he looked down at his schedule. Leo sighed and  
glanced at KD who nodded weakly.  
"Carolyn Kent." The Chief of staff replied. Jed looked at Leo abruptly  
and then at KD who glanced at him and then away. Toby pulled her a little  
closer and stroked her arm gently.  
"Who's Carolyn Kent?" Sam asked in his own innocent tone.  
"I was wondering the same thing." Josh admitted. Jed paused and glanced  
at Leo. KD snuggled further into Toby's side, much to everyone's attention.  
It was obvious that the whole thing was making her uncomfortable.  
"It doesn't matter for now. Let's just get this meeting started." The  
President exclaimed as he moved to sit in one of the armchairs. CJ kept her  
eyes on KD for a moment as the meeting began, more than a little worried.  
Josh sat next to her, the same expression on his face.  
"So, KD, what's the word on Medical research?" Leo asked loudly, bringing  
both CJ and Josh's attentions back to the room. They smiled sheepishly and  
listened as KD replied softly, slowly rebuilding her confidence.

To Be Continued....

  

****

  


End file.
